Letters to the Editor
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Don't be a victim
I understand statistics. The problem is, the men I studied under in physics don't give a rat's behind about statistics when it comes to harping about gender.
How is that relevant? The physicists you worked with were misogynistic idiots, so you now have a license to ignore statistics as well? That makes no sense.
The men I studied under in physics take studies like this and talk about them at the lunch tables as if statistics don't exist.
OK, so they're idiots.
I understand that statistics exist. I understand that maybe I'm outside some kind of norm. But silly me, I think I have a right to exist.
I don't argue that. People have been mean or discriminatory towards you. Just don't expect to get a free pass on using faulty logic.
Can you tell me why so many of my professors talk about women as if I don't really exist?
No, because I'm not one of your professors.
I almost left a dinner party a few months ago because a couple of condensed matter physicists were talking about this kind of research as if women like myself just plain didn't exist.
See above point about them being misogynistic idiots. I still don't see how that's relevant to your nonsensical and illogical comments about this study.
This is why I quit finally physics. Because I really got tired of scientists who REALLY SHOUD KNOW BETTER using this kind of research to intimidate and emotionally harm women who do not fit the statistical norm.
What, exactly is "this kind of research"? One that studies differences between men and women? OK, fine, I won't argue that there are people out there who are going to be idiots about it and abuse the research and twist it to suit their own agenda. But how does you becoming one of those people help your case? It might make you feel better. It might be cathartic. But it's still wrong.
There are a few (~3-5) comments in this thread so far who have actually discussed the study and not talked about irrelevant anecdotal evidence. Discussions of controlling for characteristics of Internet-using populations, statistically significant differences between (gender, orientation) tuples, and the applicability of the tested skills to reading maps and navigation.
It hurts.
I don't doubt that or dispute that. But you can either see yourself as a victim or you can say "screw you" to the people who hurt you and move on. But I wasn't one of those people, so don't blame me for their behavior.